Trayvon boycott would hurt workers most

I understand that you're heartsick. I know that you're frustrated and stunned by a verdict you find hard to accept.

I get all that. Really, I do.

But let me suggest that a boycott of Florida businesses is the wrong way to go.

Here's why:

From what I gather, you want Florida to change current gun laws and repeal Stand Your Ground. Now let's set aside the relative chance of that happening (exceedingly slim) and talk about what you'd have to do.

To amend the law, you'll need the support of state legislators. To get that, you'll need to pressure Florida businesses – and not just a little, because we really like our guns down here.

More people carry concealed weapons in Florida than in any other state. Two years ago, lawmakers made it a crime for doctors to ask patients if they kept a gun in their home. Our unofficial nickname is The Gunshine State.

So your boycott will need to hurt businesses a lot – so much that they'll demand new legislation and squeal loudly enough to drown out opposition from the gun lobby.

But here's the problem.

If you somehow manage to inflict that much pain on Florida businesses, the first ones to suffer won't be executives or elected officials.

It'll be the front-line workers – many of whom are African-American – who get laid off the moment a company senses it might not hit its quarterly numbers. It's breathtaking how expendable "valued team members" become at the first hint of slipping profits.

Trust me. We lived through way too much of that over the last few years. And while the state's economy seems to be on the mend, we're not nearly back to full strength.

About 665,000 Floridians still don't have jobs today, and our unemployment rate is 7.1 percent. In Metro Orlando, it's 6.9 percent, and in Fort Lauderdale, it's 6.1 percent. It's still 8 percent or more in 20 counties.

The numbers are worse among African-Americans, running 5 or 6 percentage points higher. If you orchestrated a successful boycott – a tall order – you'd cause collateral damage in the very community you're trying to help.

Rory Frazier and his wife, Cathy, run Jazz Tastings, a restaurant and live music lounge in Maitland. Like you, Frazier was unhappy with the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin verdict, calling it "an injustice."

He supports changing state gun laws, but he's uncomfortable with talk of a boycott, even though his place relies mostly on locals. Elected officials, not business owners, wrote the law, he said, and that's where pressure should be focused.

"Go out. Go out in droves and petition the politicians," he said. But "boycotting a business isn't the way to go. We're all still hurting."

If you're out of state, you could find organizations here that want to change the law. Or contribute to candidates who share your view. Badger elected officials who support Stand Your Ground.

I'll even spot you a couple of names: State Sen. David Simmons, a Republican from Altamonte Springs, and state Rep. Dennis Baxley, a Republican from Ocala. Those are the guys who fathered the legislation back in 2005.

Start your campaign with them. Simmons' office phone is (407) 262-7578, Baxley's is (352) 732-1313. Let them know how you feel. Just be polite.

Folks who study these sorts of social movements talk about "policy windows" – moments in time where events create opportunities for a shift in policy. For opponents of Stand Your Ground, that window is about as open as it's ever going to get here.

Feel free to use it, but please don't shove Florida's businesses out in the process.